Affinity Publisher for Beginners | Updated for Version 2

Master the foundational skills of Affinity Publisher, start from the very beginning, keep it simple, and work toward completing your first project together.

Open the file menu and start a new document. Choose presets or customize size, units, dpi, margins, bleed, and color before creating to see a live preview.

Explore Affinity Publisher's workspace, including the document work area, left tools, context and regular toolbars, and manage studio panels and color settings, including the color wheel.

Compare Mac versus PC interfaces in Affinity Publisher, noting panel close button placement and how keyboard shortcuts differ, using command or control with option or alt.

Learn to navigate Affinity Publisher with zoom, pan, and keyboard shortcuts, using an exercise file to explore zoom in/out, the hand tool, and fit to screen.

Explore how to manage layers in Affinity Publisher, including stacking, naming, locking, hiding, and grouping, then move items with the move tool and undo with Command or Control Z.

Learn to use the move tool to select, move, resize, rotate, and duplicate objects in Affinity Publisher, with snapping lines, locking proportions, and keyboard shortcuts.

Learn to use the artistic text tool to add, format, and position text in a blank document, using color, font options, bold, italics, and underline.

Learn to add images in Affinity Publisher using the Place Image Tool, place multiple photos, adjust size with the Move tool, and center them for a polished layout.

Save your work in Affinity Publisher with save as, choose a location, and reopen later for continued editing, then export as pdf or jpeg to share or print.

Create a wedding invitation in Affinity Publisher by setting 8.5 by 11 at 300 dpi with margins off and zero bleed, then design text with fonts and export as JPEG.

Discover how to add style to your designs by using fonts, images, and shapes in Affinity Publisher, building on the basics you’ve learned.

Learn to add new fonts to affinity publisher by downloading from font websites, previewing text, and installing on Mac or PC; discover 100% free fonts and Google fonts as resources.

Find free photos and graphics on Pixabay, download them in preferred sizes, and place them in Affinity Publisher to create layered visuals with transparent-background images.

Explore the difference between linked and embedded images in Affinity Publisher, using resource manager to relink missing files and set default image placement in document setup.

Learn to create and modify shapes in Affinity Publisher, using rectangle and star tools, color and points adjustments, resizing with shift, and moving or snapping shapes with the move tool.

Explore how to apply fill and stroke colors in Affinity Publisher, using the color panel, color wheel, and sliders to adjust hue, saturation, and stroke width.

Match colors in Affinity Publisher using the color panel, which tracks colors, or the color picker for exact color matches. Keep a limited palette to maintain a clean, professional look.

Explore the stroke panel to customize strokes in Affinity Publisher. Learn how join, alignment, width, and scale with object affect stroke appearance on shapes, text, and photos.

Master the pen tool to create straight lines in Affinity Publisher, customize stroke width and color, and refine line ends with caps for consistent, stylized lines.

Create a live plant gallery flyer in Affinity Publisher, using a background image, layered text, bold fonts like Dream Orphans and Railway, and a semi-transparent black rectangle for readability.

Build on the basics of adding text by mastering more powerful tools to stylize your text in Affinity Publisher. Apply these text styling tools to improve document presentation.

Explore the character panel to modify text with shearing, letting override, kerning, and tracking. Learn to adjust font, size, spacing, and decorations for precise typesetting.

Master the frame text tool in Affinity Publisher to resize frames, reflow text, center content, and place Word documents using the context toolbar.

Learn how the paragraph panel styles large blocks of text by setting alignments (left, right, center, justified), line spacing (letting), space before/after paragraphs, and hyphenation, with per-paragraph or full-frame application.

Learn how textiles save and apply text styles in Affinity Publisher, update heading one and body styles, adjust fonts and colors, and apply changes to multiple paragraphs for consistent formatting.

Explore how Affinity Publisher carries over character changes—font, size, color—when you create a new text frame, while clarifying that paragraph changes and textiles do not transfer.

Master the pages panel in Affinity Publisher to add, duplicate, delete, and rearrange pages, view thumbnail previews, and quickly jump to any page using the navigation bar or page number.

Master page setup basics in affinity publisher: create a document, set pages and facing pages, choose starting page orientation, and adjust these options in document set up.

Design a two-page restaurant flyer in Affinity Publisher for a cat cafe, balancing background color, paper texture, cat imagery, typography, and precise alignment across pages.

Create the back page border in Affinity Publisher with centered rectangles, resize via the Transform panel, then add Railway and Crutch shaded text before exporting as JPEG or PDF.

Learn to work with large blocks of text, moving beyond short passages to pages of content. Explore techniques for handling extensive text within Affinity Publisher.

Learn to use spell check in Affinity Publisher, turn on spell checking while typing, and correct misspelled words with the spell check dialog using change, ignore, and learn.

Learn to add columns to a text frame, adjust the column count and gutter, and see how text reflows across columns; for independent columns, use separate text frames.

Learn to link text frames in affinity publisher, auto flow text across frames with connecting arrows, manage deletions and reinsert frames, and edit all text across frames with Cmd/Ctrl A.

Learn how auto flow creates linked text frames across pages, using shift-click to trigger auto flow, adjust frame sizes, and fix overflow while tweaking paragraph spacing.

Create an engaging annual report in Affinity Publisher by designing a cover, including a CEO spotlight, inserting stock imagery, and using columns with auto flow.

Create a multi-page annual report by setting up text frames with columns, applying body textiles, styling headings, enabling auto flow, and adding a closing page with imagery in Affinity Publisher.

Tackle essential technical topics in a simple, approachable way as you begin the Affinity Publisher for Beginners course; this chapter covers important technical content and keeps it straightforward.

Learn the differences between rgb and cmyk color formats and when to use rgb for screen work versus cmyk for printing to ensure accurate exports.

Learn how margins create a buffer around your document to improve readability, with recommended sizes like 1 inch (25 mm) and a minimum 0.125 inch (3 mm) in document setup.

Learn how bleed extends your design to the page edge, with real-world steps for setting 0.5 inch bleed, placing images, and exporting with bleed for print readiness.

Learn to add and manage guides in affinity publisher using the ruler and guides manager to place horizontal and vertical guides in inches or percentages. Snap to precise placement.

Explore the view menu in Affinity Publisher, manage bleed, margins, and guides, and use preview mode to quickly hide guides and preview how your document will look when exported.

Learn to get help in Affinity Publisher through the Affinity Forums, search and sort questions, start a new topic with a title and your question, and attach screenshots.

Improve readability of large documents by adding a table of contents and page numbers. Learn to help readers navigate your document more easily.

Master creating a table of contents in Affinity Publisher using heading levels and a text frame. Update page numbers, apply dot leaders, and enable hyperlinks for PDF exports.

Explore master pages in Affinity Publisher to place elements once and apply them to all pages, with examples like banners, text, and guidelines.

Detach master page elements to edit them in detached mode, move and center text, and learn how master page changes apply to all pages except detached ones.

Learn to add and manage page numbers in Affinity Publisher using master pages, the frame text tool, and sections to restart and style numbering.

Create a Mary Trotter children's book in Affinity Publisher for beginners, setting up an A4 document with facing pages, margins, styles, table of contents, and image placements across chapters.

Add copyright and about the author pages, set up page numbers with master pages, and create and update a table of contents with hyperlinks in Affinity Publisher.

Learn a few last things before wrapping up the Affinity Publisher for beginners course, as the instructor shares final lessons you won't want to miss.

Learn to create internal and external hyperlinks in Affinity Publisher, linking words to destination pages and URLs, customize hyperlink styles, and ensure hyperlinks export with the document.

Learn to use picture frames in Affinity Publisher to crop and place photos, using square and circular frames, replacing images, and resizing frames for precise layouts.

Explore text wrapping in Affinity Publisher by adjusting wrap styles, distances, and justification to control how text flows around images, frames, and irregular shapes.

Combine your course skills to assemble a complete magazine with a library theme, two articles, a textiles-inspired table of contents, and sprinkled pictures and quotes.

Set up an affinity publisher a4 magazine with facing pages, 12 pages, cmyk, 3-column master and bleed, then add page numbers in Times New Roman 12pt and configure guides.

Design the Library Times front cover with a full-bleed background image, Times New Roman title, railway subtitle, and a back cover featuring the copyright symbol and library logo.

Learn to manage bleed hazards, create and link text frames across pages, and apply multi-column layouts with heading styles and Times New Roman body text in Affinity Publisher.

Place images into rectangular and circular frames across pages, align to bleed, adjust text wrap, and resize to create a cohesive, visually engaging magazine.

Add quotes to a magazine layout in Affinity Publisher using circles, colors, and text frames to place three quotes across the cover, contents page, and image overlays.

Create a polished table of contents in Affinity Publisher by configuring heading levels, applying text styling, fixing line breaks, using the table of contents panel, and previewing the layout.

Wrap up the project in Affinity Publisher by reviewing the document in preview mode, adjusting page elements, handling preflight warnings, updating the table of contents, and exporting a print-ready PDF.

Reach the course conclusion by applying the skills from all completed projects to your own work, and look forward to the next Affinity Revolution tutorial.